Tense situation was prevailing in the tribal region where tribesmen on Saturday buried the victims of Friday’s deadly suicide attack at separate places in Bajaur Agency as the death toll rose to 29.
Offices and private markets were closed in Bajaur to mourn the deaths as local tribesmen held funerals in different parts of the tribal region, witnesses said.
A teenage suicide bomber blew himself up on Friday in a bustling market in Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur Agency. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening that whoever was found involved in anti-Taliban activities would face the same fate.
Paramilitary troops and tribal police were seen patrolling the streets and bazaars on Saturday while roads and markets were deserted with educational institutions closed.
“Five critically injured tribesmen succumbed to their injuries overnight in hospitals. The death toll has now risen to 29,” hospital sources said.
It was the deadliest bombing in Pakistan since February 17, when 31 people were killed in a suicide attack in Kurram tribal region.
Among the dead were the local chief and deputy of Levies Force. The security forces are frequently targeted by insurgents linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda.
The military conducted major anti-Taliban offensives in Bajaur in August 2008 and February 2009, and has repeatedly declared the agency secure. But militants have still proved able to strike. Report says that government has not yet announced any compensation for the heirs of those killed in the deadly suicide bombing.